This invention relates to an organizer and more particularly a one-piece foldable organizer primarily for storing and indexing coupons, which is attachable to a shopping cart while shopping, but which also may be used for storing and indexing other items such as credit cards, checks, etc.
The use of coupons to obtain discounts on products, particularly for groceries, is quite common. Coupons are received from a wide variety of sources for a wide diversity of packaged products, those sources including the mail, newspapers and at the point of purchase in the store and on the product itself. Due to the wide diversity of coupons for many brands of products, the consumer finds it very difficult and nearly impossible to organize these coupons in a manner for quick and easy use while shopping.
Currently on the market are purse-like holders and index boxes with labeled divider cards to assist the consumer in the task of separating and storing the coupons in an easy-to-use fashion. The problem with such holders and boxes is that one cannot readily see the coupons while shopping and must look through many coupons to obtain the desired one. Furthermore, such items are not attachable to the shopping cart or adequately secured in the holder and are thus subject to being spilled by the consumer or by a child in the shopping cart safety seat. Thus, there is a need for a coupon organizer that can be used to organize, store, secure and retrieve coupons easily while shopping.
The prior patented art includes numerous coupon organizers, but none like the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,504 by Owlett (1985) is the only prior patented device which attaches to a shopping cart. However, although the Owlett device is more convenient than some prior devices in that it attaches to the shopping cart, it provides no other advantage over purse-like organizers on the market since it only has one coupon compartment. The remaining prior art includes coupon organizers that do not attach to shopping cart handles and vary from purse-like, box-like or even suitcase-like coupon organizer and include U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,947 by Mater (1980); U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,393 by Green (1982); U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,055 by Slaybaugh (1981); U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,690 by Giarritta (1977); U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,575 by Martin (1989); U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,994 by Holland (1984); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,054 by Blossom (1986).
Unfortunately, none of the prior patented art allows the coupons to be separated into a multiplicity of compartments for easy use while shopping.